Tadka Urad Dal

Tadka Urad Dal was a favored lentil dish in my family while I was growing up. Dal is a staple dish in Indian meals and, for most Indian vegetarians, a frequent source of protein. This delicious, nourishing dish can accompany any number of different meals.

Course
Main Course

Cuisine
Indian

Prep Time10minutes

Cook Time15minutes

Total Time45minutes

Servings4people

Ingredients

1cupurad dal(washed)

1tspsalt

1/4tspturmeric

1Tbspginger(finely chopped)

2cupswater

1/4tspgaram masala

1/2tspmango powder(amchoor)

Seasoning

3Tbspghee(clarified butter)

1/2tspcumin seeds(jeera)

1/8tspasafetida(hing)

1green chili(sliced)

1Tbspginger(thinly sliced)

1/2tspred pepper(adjust to taste)

4pieceslemon(for garnishing)

Method

Wash and soak urad dal for at least 20 minutes. Dal will be double in volume after soaking. Drain the water.

Put dal with 2 cups water into a pressure cooker and add salt, turmeric, and ginger. Close the cover and cook on medium high heat.

When the pressure cooker starts to steam, turn the heat down to low and cook for five minutes.

Turn off the heat and wait until all the steam has escaped before opening the pressure cooker. Dal should be soft. If needed add more water, dal should be not very mushy you should be able to see the grains. You should be able to scoop the dal with roti. Dal will thicken as it sits after cooking. So leave it more liquid than you want it to be.

Add garam masala, and mango powder mix it well.

Seasoning

Heat ghee in a small saucepan. Test the heat by adding one cumin seed to the ghee; if it cracks immediately, the oil is ready. Add the cumin seeds. When they begin to crack, add the asafetida, ginger, and green chilies. Stir for a few seconds. Add red chili powder and 1 tablespoon of water to prevent the spices from burning. Pour spiced chaunk over hot dal, before serving.

I made Tadka Urad Dal for dinner last night. It was so good, I couldn’t wait for dinner time today so I could eat what was leftover. Thank you Manjula for the videos of your recipes. It really helps when I am making a new dish to see how it should be done.

Hello Manjula, I have a Vinod pressure cooker, and I only cooked the urad dal for 1 whistle, which was about 12 minutes. The dal was not as soft as you showed. Do you know how many whistles it should take? Thank you and I learn so much from your videos.